A mucoadhesive thermosensitive hydrogel containing erythropoietin as a potential treatment in oral mucositis: in vitro and in vivo studies.

Oral mucositis (OM) represents a therapeutic challenge frequently encountered in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Erythropoietin (EPO) has anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and wound-healing properties and therefore has important roles in the prevention and treatment of OM. In the current study, we developed a thermally sensitive mucoadhesive gel based on trimethyl chitosan (TMC) containing EPO for the treatment of OM.

Functional SNP in microRNA-491-5p binding site of MMP9 3'-UTR affects cancer susceptibility.

MicroRNAs (miRNA) are small RNA molecules that negatively regulate gene expression through base pairing interactions between 3'-UTR of the target mRNAs and seed sequence of miRNA. Any changes in the recognition site could destroy binding sites or modify binding affinity, resulting in evasion from miRNA regulation. A putative binding site for miR-491-5p resides in 3'-UTR of MMP9, and a genetic variant (rs1056628 A → C) is present in this region.